Living Language Guide To Reading and Writing in Japanese PDF

Guide to Reading and
Writing Japanese
Written by
Mamori Sugita Hughes
Copyright © 2012 by Living Language, an imprint of Random House, Inc. www.livinglanguage.com

Overview Of The Japanese Writing System 7
PART 1: Hiragana
26
Reading Hiragana Writing Hiragana
Reading and
Punctuation Rules
12 32
Course
PART 2: Katakana
63
Reading Katakana Writing Katakana
Reading and
Punctuation Rules
51 64
Outline
PART 3: Kanji
88
Reading Kanji Writing Kanji
Anatomy of Kanji
85 93

Overview of the Japanese Writing
System
The Japanese writing system consists of three types of symbols: ひらがな hiragana, カタカナ
katakana, and 漢字 kanji. Each type of symbol is used for specific purposes. In this guide, we’ll
look at each type of symbol individually, and teach you how to read and write in Japanese. First,
an overview of the types of symbols.
カタカナ Katakana
There are 46 カタカナ katakana symbols. Katakana is used mainly to write words and names
of foreign origin. It is also used to write words that express sounds (i.e. onomatopoeia) such as
the equivalent of the English meow and cuckoo. Occasionally, katakana is used to place emphasis
on a word of Japanese origin. Just as with the English alphabet, katakana characters are phonetic
symbols, which is to say that each character represents a specific sound. What makes katakana
characters distinct from the English alphabet is that each katakana character represents a syllable.
In other words, katakana represents either a vowel ([a], [i], [u], [e], [o]) or a combination of a
consonant and a vowel (e.g. [sa], [ke]).
バナナ banana
[ba] [na] [na]
漢字 Kanji
漢字 Kanji refers to a set of Chinese characters and is used for content words such as nouns,
verbs, and adjectives. Kanji was originally borrowed from the Chinese language and adapted
to fit the Japanese language. While the Japanese adopted the Chinese way of reading the kanji
characters, they also assigned Japanese readings in order to match the characters to existing
Japanese words. Therefore, each kanji character usually has at least two possible readings. The
appropriate reading of a particular character depends on its usage. Each kanji character carries a
specific meaning.
Overview of the Japanese Writing System 7

三 (three) + 人 (person) = 三人 sannin (three people)
学 (learn) + 生 (life) = 学生 gakusee (student)
朝 (morning) + 食 (eat) = 朝食 chooshoku (breakfast)
There are 1,945 Kanji Characters in Common Use (常用漢字 Jooyoo Kanji) announced officially
by the Japanese Ministry of Education. In publications aimed at Japanese adults such as books
and newspapers, knowledge of these 1,945 characters is assumed. There are also a good number
of less frequently used characters.
ひらがな Hiragana
Hiragana is the most basic type of symbols in Japanese. Just as katakana, hiragana consists of
forty-six characters; they are phonetic and syllabic symbols. Everything that is not represented in
katakana or kanji is written in hiragana. This includes, but is not limited to, function words such
as particles and inflectional endings. Hiragana is also used when one chooses not to use kanji to
write particular words. This usually happens when the writer or reader’s knowledge of kanji is
limited, or when the particular kanji character is not one of the Kanji Characters in Common Use (
常用漢字 Jooyoo Kanji).
いぬ dog
[i] [nu]
The word inu (dog) can be written in kanji, but if you choose to write it in hiragana, it looks like
the above.
かな Kana vs. 漢字 Kanji

Hiragana and katakana are referred to collectively as かな kana, to distinguish them from kanji.
Japanese children are taught kana first, then they start learning kanji in elementary school at
8 Guide to Reading and Writing Japanese

the age of six or seven. Because there are so many kanji, it is taught all the way up through high
school.
Japanese Text at a Glance

Now that you know how hiragana, katakana, and kanji are used for different purposes, let’s take a
look at a full sentence in which all the three types of symbols are used.
私はアメリカ人です。
Watashi wa amerika jin desu.
I am an American.
Let’s break it down now to see how the different types of symbols work together.
私/は/アメリカ/人/です。
[watashi]/[wa]/[amerika]/[jin]/[desu]
I/the particle wa/America/person/be (period)
kanji/hiragana/katakana/kanji/hiragana
As you can see, katakana is used for the word that reads [amerika], which is borrowed from the
English word America. Kanji is used for the words that mean I and person. Hiragana is used for
the particle は wa and the present tense polite form of the copula (whose English equivalent is
the verb be). Essentially, kanji is used for content words, while hiragana is used for function words.
Direction of Writing
Japanese may be written horizontally from left to right just like English, or vertically from top
to bottom and right to left. Look at the two examples below and note the differences between
the horizontal writing (on the left) and the vertical writing (on the right). Note especially the
placement of punctuation.

Vertical writing is used in most published works such as newspapers and books, with the
exception of science books and some types of magazines. Vertical writing used to be predominant
in other areas as well such as letters and manuscripts, but horizontal writing has become more
common for everyday writing, partly due to the now widespread use of personal computers.
Throughout these coursebooks, you will see only horizontal writing used.

ふりがな Furigana
Since there are a significant number of kanji characters, many readers need some guidance on
how to read them in text. There is a reading aid called ふりがな furigana, which is basically
small kana printed next to or above kanji to indicate its pronunciation. In horizontal text,
furigana is placed above the line of text. In vertical text, it is placed to the right of the line of text.
Furigana is most commonly used in materials for Japanese children and learners of Japanese as a
foreign language. You will see furigana used throughout the coursebooks in this package. Furigana
may be also used over kanji which are not among the Kanji Characters in Common Use (常用漢
字 Jooyoo Kanji) in materials aimed at adult Japanese speakers. Since kanji used in names (of
people, places, etc.) are sometimes pronounced in uncommon ways, you will often see furigana
over names and addresses when someone is filling out forms.
わたしがくせい
私は学生です。
Watashi wa gakusee desu.
I am a student.

Part 1: Hiragana
Reading Hiragana
THE BASIC HIRAGANA CHARACTERS
The Hiragana Chart
The following chart shows what is called ごじゅうおん gojuuon, which literally means fifty
sounds. However, the modern system actually consists of only forty-six sounds. The chart is read
from top to bottom and right to left. This is the order in which words are given in a dictionary.
ひらがなのごじゅうおんひょう Hiragana no gojuuon hyoo The hiragana chart
w r y m h n t s k a
んわwa らやまma はなたさかあ a
n ra ya ha na ta sa ka a
りみひにちしきい i
ri mi hi ni chi shi ki i
るゆむふぬつすくう u
ru yu mu fu nu tsu su ku u
れめへねてせけえ e
re me he ne te se ke e
をろよもほのとそこお o
o ro yo mo ho no to so ko o

Each hiragana character represents either a vowel or a consonant-vowel combination. One
exception is the character ん n. However, this sound is considered a single syllable in Japanese.
Therefore, we can say that every hiragana character represents a syllable.
Hiragana Characters One by One

Let’s go through all the hiragana characters in the chart one by one, in the order you would find
them in a dictionary. The first five characters are vowels corresponding to the far-right column in
the hiragana chart. This column is called あぎょう agyoo the A-line.
あぎょう agyoo the A-line

あa ありがとうございます。Arigatoo gozaimasu. Thank you.
いi はい。Hai. Yes.
うu うち uchi home
えe おなまえは？ Onamae wa? What’s your name?
おo おなまえは？ Onamae wa? What’s your name?
The rest of the characters represent combinations of consonants and vowels. The first column
after あぎょう agyoo the A-line combines the consonant k and the vowels. This column is called
かぎょう kagyoo the Ka-line.
かぎょう kagyoothe Ka-line
か ka たなかさん Tanaka san Mr./Ms. Tanaka
き ki げんきです。Genki desu. I’m fine.
くku がくせい gakusee student
け ke とけい tokee watch/clock
こ ko おとこ otoko male
The next column is さぎょう sagyoo the Sa-line:

さぎょう sagyoo the Sa-line
さ sa さようなら。Sayoonara. Goodbye.
Part 1: Hiragana 13

さぎょう sagyoo the Sa-line
し shi どうぞよろしく。Doozo yoroshiku. Nice to meet you.
す su ～です。. . . desu. to be . . .
せ se せんせい sensee teacher
そ so それではまた。Sorede wa mata. See you later.
Please note that the combination of the consonant s and the vowel i results in the sound shi in
Japanese, not si. Japanese does not have the sound si.
The next column is たぎょう tagyoo the Ta-line:

たぎょう tagyoo the Ta-line
た ta たなかさん Tanaka san Mr./Ms. Tanaka
ち chi ちち chichi father (one’s own)
つ tsu くつ kutsu shoes
て te はじめまして。Hajimemashite. How do you do?
と to ひと hito person
Please note that the combination of the consonant t and the vowel i results in the sound chi not
ti. Likewise, the combination of the t and u results in the sound tsu, not tu.
Let’s look at the rest of the characters.

なぎょう nagyoo the Na-line
な na おなまえは？ Onamae wa? What’s your name?
に ni あに ani older brother (one’s own)
ぬ nu いぬ inu dog
ね ne あね ane older sister (one’s own)
の no おんなのひと onna no hito woman
はぎょう hagyoo the Ha-line

は ha はち hachi eight
ひ hi ひらがな hiragana hiragana

はぎょう hagyoo the Ha-line
ふ fu ふたり futari two people
へ he へや heya room
ほ ho ほん hon book
Please note that the combination of h and u in Japanese results in fu, not hu.
まぎょう magyoo the Ma-line

ま ma います imasu to have, there is, to exist
み mi おやすみなさい。Oyasuminasai. Good night.
む mu むすこ musuko son (one’s own)
め me ごめんなさい。Gomennasai. I’m sorry.
も mo いもうと imooto younger sister (one’s own)
やぎょう yagyoo the Ya-line

や ya おやすみなさい。Oyasuminasai. Good night.
ゆ yu しょうゆ shooyu soy sauce
よ yo ようこそ。Yookoso. Welcome.
As you can see, there are only three characters in やぎょう yagyoo the Ya-line.
らぎょう ragyoo the Ra-line

ら ra ひらがな hiragana hiragana
り ri ありがとうございます。Arigatoo gozaimasu. Thank you.
る ru くるま kuruma car
れ re れい ree zero
ろ ro ろくroku six
Part 1: Hiragana 15

わぎょう wagyoo the Wa-line
わ wa わたし watashi I
をo を o the particle o
There are only two characters in わぎょう wagyoo the Wa-line. Please note that the character を
is pronounced o, not wo. In modern Japanese, this character is used only to write the particle を
o, whose function is to mark an object in a sentence, as in すしをたべます。Sushi o tabemasu.
I eat sushi.
And now, here’s the final hiragana character, ん n, which does not belong to any “line.”
んn こんばんは。Konban wa. Good evening.
The character ん is also special because it represents a single consonant sound, as opposed to a
combination of consonant + vowel.
DIACRITICS AND SPECIAL CHARACTER

COMBINATIONS
In addition to the forty-six sounds that you’ve just learned, additional sounds are created through
the use of diacritics and specific combinations of the basic characters. We’ll guide you through
these characters in the following sections.
Diacritics
There are two types of diacritics used over some of the basic hiragana characters: だくて
ん dakuten and はんだくてん handakuten. だくてん Dakuten turns voiceless consonants
into voiced consonants; はんだくてん handakuten turns voiced consonants into voiceless
consonants. The difference between voiced and voiceless consonants is the presence or absence of
vibration. To see what this means, put your fingers on your throat while pronouncing the English
sound g. You should feel vibration. This is because your vocal chords vibrate when you pronounce
g, which is a voiced consonant. In contrast, if you pronounce a voiceless consonant k, you won’t

feel vibration. The tongue position and the shape of the lips for pronouncing k is the same as
pronouncing g. The only difference between them is the presence or absence of vibration.
The voiceless consonants can be made into voiced consonants by the use of a two-dot symbol
called dakuten (formal) or てんてん tenten (informal). Dakuten is placed to the upper right of
the characters in かぎょう kagyoo the Ka-line, さぎょう sagyoo the Sa-line, たぎょう tagyoo the
Ta-line, and はぎょう hagyoo the Ha-line.
The use of だくてん dakuten

k g s z t d h b
か ka が ga さ sa ざ za た ta だ da は ha ば ba
き ki ぎ gi し shi じ ji ち chi ぢ ji ひ hi び bi
く ku ぐ gu す su ず zu つ tsu づ zu ふ fu ぶ bu
け ke げ ge せ se ぜ ze て te で de へ he べ be
こ ko ご go そ so ぞ zo と to ど do ほ ho ぼ bo
Note that ず and づ share the same pronunciation zu. They are, however, not interchangeable.
For example, the word that means number must always be written with ず as in かず kazu, but
not かづ. Likewise, the word that means bridle or reins must always be written with づ as in たづ
な tazuna, but not たずな. It is, however, the case that ず is used much more often than づ in
Japanese words.
You may also have noticed that じ ji and ぢ ji have the same pronunciation. However, the
character ぢ is used only in a few words, and the sound ji is represented by the character じ most
of the time.
Let’s look at each of the above characters with dakuten one by one with an example.
がぎょう gagyoo the Ga-line

が ga がくせい gakusee student
ぎ gi ぎんこう ginkoo bank
Part 1: Hiragana 17

がぎょう gagyoo the Ga-line
ぐ gu かぐ kagu furniture
げ ge ほうげん hoogen dialect
ご go えいご eego English (language)
ざぎょう zagyoo the Za-line

ざ za ざっし zasshi magazine
じ ji じかん jikan time
ず zu かず kazu number
ぜ ze かぜ kaze wind
ぞ zo ぞう zoo elephant
だぎょう dagyoo the Da-line

だ da だいくdaiku carpenter
ぢ ji はなぢ hanaji nose bleed
づ zu おこづかい okozukai allowance
で de でんしゃ densha train
ど do どくdoku poison
ばぎょう bagyoo the Ba-line

ば ba おばあさん obaasan grandmother (someone else’s)
び bi びん bin bottle
ぶ bu ぶた buta pig
べ be べんきょう benkyoo study
ぼ bo そぼ sobo grandmother (one’s own)
The following pairs of examples illustrate the contrast between words with voiceless consonants
and words with voiced consonants:
Word without だくてん dakuten Word with だくてん dakuten
とくtoku virtue どくdoku poison

Word without だくてん dakuten Word with だくてん dakuten
せん sen thousand ぜん zen Zen Buddhism
か ka mosquito が ga moth
ふた futa lid ぶた buta pig
You may have noticed that the way you pronounce the voiced ば ba び bi ぶ bu べ be ぼ bo is
different from the voiceless は ha ひ hi ふ fu へ he ほ ho. The sounds ば ba び bi ぶ bu べ be
ぼ bo use both lips (this is called “bilabial”), but when you pronounce は ha ひ hi ふ fu へ he
ほ ho, your lips do not touch at all. In order to represent voiceless bilabial sounds, a small circle
called はんだくてん handakuten (formal) or まる maru (informal) is placed to the upper right
of each of the characters は ha ひ hi ふ fu へ he ほ ho, as shown in the following chart.
The use of はんだくてん handakuten

h p
は ha ぱ pa
ひ hi ぴ pi
ふ fu ぷ pu
へ he ぺ pe
ほ ho ぽ po
Let’s look at the five characters with handakuten one by one with some
examples below.
ぱぎょう pagyoo the Pa-line
ぱ pa いっぱい ippai one (glass/bowl/cup)
ぴ pi いっぴき ippiki one (animal)
ぷ pu いっぷん ippun one minute
ぺ pe いっぺん ippen sudden change
ぽ po いっぽん ippon one (long and thin object)
Compare the following three words; the first one with ひ hi (no diacritic),
Part 1: Hiragana 19

the second one with び bi (with dakuten), and the third one with ぴ pi
(with handakuten).
no diacritics with dakuten with handakuten
ひん hin dignity びん bin bottle ぴん pin pin
(Note that since the word ぴん pin comes from the English word pin, it is normally written in katakana, which you’ll
learn in the next chapter.)
Glides
A glide is a sound that contains a consonant and y, such as kya. Glides are
written with the combination of hiragana characters containing the vowel i and small や ya, ゆ
yu, or よ yo. There are thirty-six combination characters that represent gliding sound.
p b d z g r m h n t s k
ぴゃびゃぢゃじゃぎゃりゃみゃひゃにゃちゃしゃきゃ ya
pya bya ja ja gya rya mya hya nya cha sha kya
ぴゅびゅぢゅじゅぎゅりゅみゅひゅにゅちゅしゅきゅ yu
pyu byu ju ju gyu ryu myu hyu nyu chu shu kyu
ぴょびょぢょじょぎょりょみょひょにょちょしょきょ yo
pyo byo jo jo gyo ryo myo hyo nyo cho sho kyo
Now, let’s look at each of the above combinations along with an example of a word using each glide.
きゃ kya きゃくkyaku customer

きゅ kyu きゅう kyuu nine
きょ kyo きょうだい kyoodai siblings
しゃ sha いしゃ isha medical doctor
しゅ shu こんしゅう konshuu this week
しょ sho しょうゆ shooyu soy sauce
ちゃ cha おちゃ ocha Japanese tea
ちゅ chu ちゅうしょくchuushoku lunch
ちょ cho ちょうしょくchooshoku breakfast

にゃ nya こんにゃくkonnyaku Konnyaku potato
にゅ nyu とうにゅう toonyuu soy milk
にょ nyo にょう nyoo urine
ひゃ hya ひゃくhyaku hundred
ひゅ hyu ひゅう hyuu onomatopoeia representing the sound of blowing wind
ひょ hyo ひょうげん hyoogen expression
みゃ mya みゃくmyaku pulse
みゅ myu word example not available
みょ myo みょう myoo strange
りゃ rya りゃくご ryakugo abbreviation
りゅ ryu りゅう ryuu dragon
りょ ryo りょうり ryoori cooking
ぎゃ gya ぎゃくgyaku opposite
ぎゅ gyu ぎゅうにくgyuuniku beef
ぎょ gyo しょくぎょう shokugyoo occupation
じゃ ja じゃま jama intrusion
じゅ ju じゅう juu ten
じょ jo てんじょう tenjoo ceiling
ぢゃ ja めおとぢゃわん meotojawan “his and hers” rice bowl set
ぢゅ ju word example not available
ぢょ jo いっぽんぢょうし ipponjooshi monotonous
びゃ bya びゃくや byakuya white night
びゅ byu ごびゅう gobyuu error (fml.)
びょ byo びょういん byooin hospital
ぴゃ pya はっぴゃくhappyaku eight hundred
Part 1: Hiragana 21

ぴゅ pyu ぴゅう pyuu onomatopoeia representing the sound of blowing wind
ぴょ pyo はっぴょう happyoo presentation
Note that each of the phonetic notations for glides does not necessarily contain the alphabet
character y, such as ちゃ cha and しゅ shu. However, if you pronounce them, you’ll hear the
sound y.
You may have noticed that じゃ ja and ぢゃ ja have the same pronunciation. The same goes for,
じゅ ju and ぢゅ ju, じょ jo and ぢょ jo. However, they are not interchangeable. For example, the
word that means ten must always be written with じゅ as in じゅう, but not ぢゅう.
Some of the character combinations above are rarely used; you see that some word examples are
missing in the above chart. Furthermore, some of the examples above aren’t really everyday words
(such as めおとぢゃわん meotojawan, いっぽんぢょうし ipponjooshi, ごびゅう gobyuu).
These words are only listed for the purpose of exemplifying the sound; you do not have to learn
them closely.
Each of the combination characters above has the value of one syllable. In contrast, when two
characters are written in the same size, you would have two syllables. For example, しゃ sha has
only one syllable, but しや shiya has two. It is very important that the characters ゃya, ゅ yu, and
ょ yo in glides are written small. If written big, it may result in a completely different word. Here
are some examples:
With a glide Without a glide

きゃく kyaku customer きやく kiyaku agreement, rules
きょう kyoo today きよう kiyoo promotion,
appointment
ひゃく hyaku hundred ひやく hiyaku leap
りゅう ryuu dragon りゆう riyuu reason
じゅう juu ten じゆう jiyuu freedom

Double Consonants
A double consonant can be recognized by a brief pause between sounds within a word, such as
がっこう gakkoo school. When you have double consonants, the consonant of the second syllable
(k in がっこう gakkoo) has the duration of one syllable. Double consonants are written with a
small つ tsu placed immediately before the consonant to be doubled. The consonants that can be
doubled are k, s, t, c, and p. Below are some examples:
Double Consonants
k がっこう gakkoo school
s いっさつ issatsu one (book, magazine)
s いっしょに issho ni together
t みっつ mittsu three (native Japanese number)
c まっちゃ maccha matcha green tea
p すっぱい suppai sour
Compare the following pairs of examples. The first word in each pair has double consonants,
while the second word does not. However, all of the examples below are three-syllable words.
With a double consonant Without a double consonant
かって katte selfish かつて katsute formerly
はっか hakka ignition はつか hatsuka the 20th day of a month
ねっき nekki hot air ねつき netsuki falling asleep
Keep in mind that double n are not considered double consonants. This is because the first n is
represented by the character ん n, as illustrated in the following examples:
さんにん sannin three people

どんな donna what kind of
Part 1: Hiragana 23

Long Vowels
Long vowels are created by two of the same vowel appearing consecutively in a single word. Each
of the two vowels retains the same length and quality. However, keep in mind that the two vowels
are pronounced as a continuous sound (thus creating a long vowel), but not as two separate
vowels. The following chart shows all the character combinations that create long vowels.
Long Vowels
w r y m h n t s k a
わあらあやあまあはあなあたあさあかあああ aa
waa raa yaa maa haa naa taa saa kaa aa
りいみいひいにいちいしいきいいい ii
rii mii hii nii chii shii kii ii
るうゆうむうふうぬうつうすうくううう uu
ruu yuu muu fuu nuu tsuu suu kuu uu
れいめいへいねえていせいけいええ ee
ree mee hee ねい tee see kee えい
nee ee
ろうようもうほうのうとおそうこおおお oo
roo yoo moo ほお noo とう soo こうおう
hoo too koo oo
As you can see in the charts above, different character combinations sometimes share an identical
sound. For example, おう oo and おお oo, こう koo and こお koo. Notice that the second vowel
in the sequence ee is often written with the character い i instead of え e. Likewise, the second
vowel in the sequence oo is often written with the character う u instead of お o. When you see
these combinations, make sure that you pronounce them correctly.
Following are some example words that contain long vowels:
いいえ iie no
えいが eega movie

おおきい ookii big
おかあさん okaasan mother (someone else’s)
とけい tokee watch, clock
こうこうせい kookoosee high school student
せんせい sensee teacher
バスてい basutee bus stop
おとうさん otoosan father (someone else’s)
おにいさん oniisan older brother (someone else’s)
おねえさん oneesan older sister (someone else’s)
ほうこう hookoo direction
せつめい setsumee description
いもうと imooto younger sister (one’s own)
れい ree zero
ろうか rooka hallway
Long vowels can be created with hiragana containing diacritics and glides as well. Below are some
examples:
ぐうぜん guuzen coincidence

れいぞうこ reezooko refrigerator
じゅう juu ten
こんしゅう konshuu this week
きょう kyoo today
おめでとうございます！Omedetoogozaimasu! Congratulations! You’ve learned all the basic

hiragana characters, diacritics, and special character combinations. In the next section, you’ll learn
some special reading and punctuation rules.
Part 1: Hiragana 25

READING AND
PUNCTUATION RULES
In this section, you’ll learn some important rules when you read Japanese sentences and passages,
including:
ȖȖ Special reading of particles

ȖȖ Reading phrases and sentences
ȖȖ Spacing
ȖȖ Punctuation marks
Special Reading of Particles

The particle は wa
The particle wa is written not with the character わ, but with the character は. Note that
expressions of greeting such as こんにちは konnichi wa hello and こんばんは konban wa good
evening also contain the character は, and it is pronounced wa. This is because the origin of the
phrase こんにちは konnichi wa is “こんにち konnichi today + the particle は wa”; and likewise
the origin of the phrase こんばんは konban wa is “こんばん konban this evening + the particle
は wa.” There are other fixed expressions such as それではまた sorede wa mata see you later and
ではありません de wa arimasen to not be whose wa sounds are all originated from the particle
は wa. In those cases too, the character は is pronounced wa.
わたしはにほんじんです。 Watashi wa nihonjin desu. I am Japanese.

やまださんはがくせいで Yamada san wa gakusee de Mr./Ms. Yamada is not a
はありません。 wa arimasen. student.
こんにちは。 Konnichi wa. Hello./Good afternoon.
それではまた。 Sorede wa mata. See you later.

The particle へ e
The particle e is optionally used (instead of the particle に ni) along with verbs that express
directional movement, such as いきます ikimasu (to go) and かえります kaerimasu (to to home).
The particle e must be written with the character へ, but not with え.
がっこうへいきます。 Gakkoo e ikimasu. I’m going to school.

うちへかえります。 Uchi e kaerimasu. I’m going home.
The particle を o
The particle o, whose main function is to mark an object in a sentence, must be written with the
character を, but not with お. This is the only usage for the character を.
すしをたべます。 Sushi o tabemasu. I eat sushi.

ほんをよみます。 Hon o yomimasu. I read books.
Reading Phrases and Sentences

When there are identical vowels across words or phrases in a sentence, they are not considered
to form a long vowel. Therefore, the second vowel must be articulated; do not pronounce the
two vowels as a continuous sound. For example, in あねとおとうと ane to otooto older sister and
younger brother, the third character と to and the fourth character お o are not part of a single
word; と to is a particle, and お o is the first character in the word おとうと otooto younger brother.
Therefore,と to and お o must be pronounced separately, instead of a continuous too. On the
other hand, the fifth character と to and the sixth character う u are part of a single word おとうと
otooto. Therefore, とう too is considered to contain a long vowel, and you have to pronounce the
two vowels oo consecutively.
がくせいがふたりいます。 Gakusee ga futari imasu. There are two students.

がくせいではありません。 Gakusee de wa arimasen. I am not a student.
いえへかえります。 Ie e kaerimasu. I’m going home.
Part 1: Hiragana 27

ほんがあります。 Hon ga arimasu. There is a book.
Spacing
In everyday Japanese text, where both かな kana and かんじ kanji are used, spaces are not
placed between words, because character alternations visually provide separations between lexical
words and functional parts of speech (such as particles and verb endings).
私は日本語を勉強します。 Watashi wa nihongo o I study Japanese.

benkyooshimasu.
However, when ひらがな hiragana is used exclusively, or when few かんじ kanji characters are
used, spaces can be provided to make it easier to read. Spaces should be used between phrases. A
space should never separate a particle from the word that it attaches to.
わたしはにほんごをべんきょうします。

Watashi wa nihongo o benkyooshimasu.
I study Japanese.
A note on spacing when you write phonetic representations of Japanese in the Roman alphabet:
most Japanese speakers would put a space between phrases, such as in Yamadasanwa kyoo sushio
tabemasu Mr./Ms. Yamada eats sushi today. On the other hand, linguists would use more spaces to
separate all parts of speech, such as in Yamada san wa kyoo sushi o tabemasu. There is no single
“correct” way to transcribe Japanese with the Roman alphabet; you may even see different versions
across different Japanese textbooks. Thus, you do not have to worry too much about where to put
spaces. Just think of the ease of reading. Apparently, if there is no space in a sentence, it is very
difficult to read and you want to avoid that!

Punctuation Marks
くてん kuten period 。
くてん Kuten (formal) or まる maru (informal), which is a small circle, is used to mark the end
of a sentence. Note that it also marks the end of a question, instead of a question mark.
こんにちは。 Konnichi wa. Hello./Good afternoon.

がくせいですか。 Gakusee desu ka. Are you a student?
とうてん tooten comma 、

Rules for the use of とうてん tooten (formal) or てん ten (informal) are much looser than
English rules for using commas. They may be placed wherever a natural break in the sentence
might occur. An example of a common place you’d see a comma is right after a subordinate clause
(such as a when clause and a while clause). You should keep in mind that とうてん tooten should
not be placed immediately before a particle or conjunction.
おとうとはがくせいです Otooto wa gakusee desu ga, While my younger brother is a

が、あにはせんせいです。 ani wa sensee desu. student, my older brother is a
teacher.
にほんにいったとき、
すし Nihon ni itta toki, sushi o When I went to Japan, I ate
をたべました。 tabemashita. sushi.
かぎかっこ kagikakko quotation marks「」

かぎかっこ Kagikakko are placed to the upper left of the first character and lower right of the
last character in horizontal writing.
「こんばんは。」 “Konban wa.” “Good evening.”
Part 1: Hiragana 29

かっこ kakko parentheses（）
The usage of かっこ kakko is basically identical to that of parentheses in English text.
Additionally, it is sometimes used to indicate the reading of kanji when furigana is not possible
due to, for example, the lack of functionality in the word-processing equipment or if the font size
is too small to use furigana.
私（わたし）の名前（なま Watashi (watashi) no My name is Yamada.

え）は山田（やまだ）です。 namae (namae) wa Yamada
(Yamada) desu.
なみせん namisen wave dash ～

なみせん Namisen is mainly used to indicate duration such as five o’clock to seven o’clock or
Monday through Friday. This usage corresponds to the English en dash (-). When you read なみせ
ん namisen aloud in this usage, you’ll say から kara, which means from. なみせん Namisen is
also used to indicate ellipses. This usage is often seen in Japanese language text books where new
verbs are introduced together with appropriate particles to be used with. This usage corresponds
to the English ellipses mark “. . . ”.
5:00 ～7:00 goji kara shichiji 5:00-7:00

げつ～きん getsu kara kin Mon-Fri
～をたべます～o tabemasu to eat. . .
～にいきます～ni ikimasu to go to. . .
さんてんリーダー santen riidaa three-dot leader ･･･

Just as なみせん namisen, さんてんリーダー santen riidaa indicates ellipses. Additionally, it
is used to indicate a special type of ellipses, suggesting unfinished thoughts or leaving readers to
guess what is implied. This usage is observed with English ellipses as well. Note that namisen is
not used for this purpose.

･･･をたべます　･･･o tabemasu to eat . . .
･･･にいきます　･･･ni ikimasu to go to . . .
たなかさんはいいひとで Tanaka san wa ii hito desu Mr./Ms. Tanaka is a good
すが･･･。 ga. . . person but . . .
WRITING HIRAGANA
There are slight differences in the appearance of characters between printed style and handwritten
style. When practicing how to write, handwritten style must be learned. For writing practice, each
character is presented within a square. The character should be always more or less centered in its
square. Try following the models, and learn how to position each character in a square. Note that
each large square is divided into nine smaller squares; this is to help you place your stroke accurately,
just the way you learned English penmanship by using guidelines. Please note that some characters
(small characters used for glides and double consonants) and some punctuation marks are centered
differently depending on the direction of writing (horizontal vs. vertical). Those will be indicated
accordingly. There are six blank squares provided for each character for you to practice. With
enough practice, you’ll be able to write without guiding squares. Don’t forget: it’s very important to
follow the stroke order and the stroke direction of each character.
あa
Part 1: Hiragana 31

いi
うu
えe
おo

か ka
き ki
くku
け ke
Part 1: Hiragana 33

こ ko
さ sa
し shi
す su

せ se
そ so
た ta
ち chi
Part 1: Hiragana 35

つ tsu
て te
と to
な na

に ni
ぬ nu
ね ne
の no
Part 1: Hiragana 37

は ha
ひ hi
ふ fu
へ he

ほ ho
ま ma
み mi
む mu
Part 1: Hiragana 39

め me
も mo
や ya
ゆ yu

よ yo
ら ra
り ri
る ru
Part 1: Hiragana 41

れ re
ろ ro
わ wa
をo

んn
が ga
ぎ gi
leave empty
ぐ gu
Part 1: Hiragana 43

げ ge
ご go
ざ za
じ ji

ず zu
ぜ ze
ぞ zo
leave empty
だ da
Part 1: Hiragana 45

ぢ ji
づ zu
で de
ど do

ば ba
び bi
ぶ bu
べ be
Part 1: Hiragana 47

ぼ bo
ぱ pa
ぴ pi
ぷ pu

ぺ pe
ぽ po
ゃ ya (small)
ゅ yu (small)
Part 1: Hiragana 49

ょ yo (small)
っ tsu (small)
ゃ ya (small) (vertical)
ゅ yu (small) (vertical)

ょ yo (small) (vertical)
っ tsu (small) (vertical)
。(horizontal) 。(vertical)
、(horizontal) 、(vertical)
～ (horizontal) ～ (vertical)
Part 1: Hiragana 51

・・・(horizontal) ・・・(vertical)
「 (horizontal) 「 (vertical)
」(horizontal) 」(vertical)
（ (horizontal) （ (vertical)
）(horizontal) ）(vertical)

Part 2: Katakana
Reading Katakana
The Basic Katakana Characters
The Katakana Chart
カタカナ Katakana characters are used mainly to write words of foreign origin, such as コン
ピューター konpyuutaa computer and テーブル teeburu table. Each of the 46 basic hiragana
characters that you’ve learned has its corresponding katakana character.
カタカナのごじゅうおんひょう Katakana no gojuuon hyoo The katakana chart
w r y m h n t s k a
ンワラヤ ya マハ ha ナ na タサカ ka ア a
n wa ra ma ta sa a
リミ mi ヒニチシキイ i
ri hi ni chi shi ki i
ル ru ユ yu ムフヌ nu ツス su ク ku ウ u
mu fu tsu u
レメヘ he ネ ne テセケ ke エ e
re me te se e
ヲロ ro ヨ yo モホノ no トソコ ko オ o
o mo ho to so o
Part 2: Katakana 53

The use of diacritics with dakuten and handakuten, the formation of glides using small characters
(ャ, ュ,ョ) that apply to hiragana also apply to katakana.
The use of だくてん dakuten
t d s z k g h b
タ ta ダ da サ sa ザ za カ ka ガ ga ハ ha バ ba
チ chi ヂ ji シ shi ジ ji キ ki ギ gi ヒ hi ビ bi
ツ tsu ヅ zu ス su ズ zu ク ku グ gu フ fu ブ bu
テ te デ de セ se ゼ ze ケ ke ゲ ge ヘ he ベ be
ト to ド do ソ so ゾ zo コ ko ゴ go ホ ho ボ bo
The use of はんだくてん handakuten
h p
ハ ha パ pa
ヒ hi ピ pi
フ fu プ pu
ヘ he ペ pe
ホ ho ポ po
Glides
p b d z g r m h n t s k
ピャビャヂャジャギャリャミャヒャニャチャシャキャ ya
pya bya ja ja gya rya mya hya nya cha sha kya
ピュビュヂュジュギュリュミュヒュニュチュシュキュ yu
pyu byu ju ju gyu ryu myu hyu nyu chu shu kyu
ピョビョヂョジョギョリョミョヒョニョチョショキョ yo
pyo byo jo jo gyo ryo myo hyo nyo cho sho kyo

Basic Katakana Characters One by One
Let’s go through all the basic katakana characters one by one.
アぎょう agyoo the A-line

アa アメリカ amerika the United States
イi インド indo India
ウu マウス mausu computer mouse
エe エンジン enjin engine
オo ラジオ rajio radio
カぎょう kagyoo the Ka-line

カ ka アメリカ amerika the United States
キ ki キーボード kiiboodo keyboard
ク ku クリスマス kurisumasu Christmas
ケ ke ケーキ keeki cake
コ ko コンピューター konpyuutaa computer
サぎょう sagyoo the Sa-line

サ sa サラダ sarada salad
シ shi シカゴ shikago Chicago
ス su レストラン resutoran restaurant
セ se セーター seetaa sweater
ソ so ソフトウェア sofutowea software
タぎょう tagyoo the Ta-line

タ ta カタカナ katakana katakana
チ chi ブランチ buranchi brunch
ツ tsu スポーツ supootsu sports
テ te テニス tenisu tennis
ト to フットボール futtobooru football
Part 2: Katakana 55

ナぎょう nagyoo the Na-line
ナ na カタカナ katakana katakana
ニ ni モニター monitaa monitor
ヌ nu ボジョレーヌーボー bojoreenuuboo Beaujolais nouveau
ネ ne インターネット intaanetto internet
ノ no ノート nooto notebook
ハぎょう hagyoo the Ha-line

ハ ha ハードウェア haadowea hardware
ヒ hi コーヒー koohii coffee
フ fu ナイフ naifu knife
ヘ he ヘリコプター herikoputaa helicopter
ホ ho ホテル hoteru hotel
Note that the katakana character ヘ he looks almost identical to its hiragana equivalent へ he.
マぎょう magyoo the Ma-line

マ ma マウス mausu computer mouse
ミmi ミルク miruku milk
ム mu ゲーム geemu game
メ me イーメール iimeeru e-mail
モ mo モニター monitaa monitor
ヤぎょう yagyoo the Ya-line

ヤ ya タイヤ taiya tire
ユ yu ユタ yuta Utah
ヨ yo ヨーグルト yooguruto yogurt
ラぎょう ragyoo the Ra-line

ラ ra サラダ sarada salad
リri アメリカ amerika the United States
ル ru ホテル hoteru hotel

ラぎょう ragyoo the Ra-line
レ re レストラン resutoran restaurant
ロ ro ロンドン rondon London
Note that the katakana character リri looks similar to its hiragana equivalent り ri.
ワぎょう wagyoo the Wa-line

ワ wa ワイン wain wine
ヲo no example
Please note that the katakana character ヲ o is not used in everyday modern Japanese language.
And finally, just like hiragana, we have the last character ン n:
ンn ワイン wain wine
Diacritics
Let’s go through the twenty-five characters with dakuten and handakuten one by one.
ガぎょう gagyoo the Ga-line

ガ ga ガールフレンド gaarufurendo girlfriend
ギ gi ギター gitaa guitar
グ gu グッズ guzzu goods
ゲ ge ゲーム geemu game
ゴ go シカゴ shikago Chicago
ザぎょう zagyoo the Za-line

ザ za ブザー buzaa buzzer
ジ ji ジッパー jippaa zipper
ズ zu ポーズ poozu pose
ゼ ze ガーゼ gaaze gauze
ゾ zo ゾンビ zonbi zombie
Part 2: Katakana 57

ダぎょう dagyoo the Da-line
ダ da ダンス dansu dance
ヂ ji ドッヂボール dojjibooru dodgeball
ヅ zu word example not available
デ de デリバリー deribarii delivery
ド do ハードウェア haadowea hardware
Please note that the katakana character ヅ zu is rarely used.
バぎょう bagyoo the Ba-line

バ ba バンド bando band
ビ bi ビール biiru beer
ブ bu ブーツ buutsu boots
ベ be ベース beesu base
ボ bo ボトル botoru bottle
パぎょう pagyoo the Pa-line

パ pa パンダ panda panda
ピ pi ピン pin pin
プ pu プリント purinto print
ペ pe ペン pen pen
ポ po ポイント pointo point
Glides
Now let’s go through the combination characters in katakana that create glides.
キャ kya キャベツ kyabetsu cabbage

キュ kyu キュー kyuu cue
キョ kyo キョンジュ kyonju Gyeongju (a city in South Korea)
シャ sha シャツ shatsu shirt
シュ shu シュート shuuto shoot
ショ sho ショー shoo show

チャ cha チャンス chansu chance
チュ chu チューリップ chuurippu tulip
チョ cho チョコレート chokoreeto chocolate
ニャ nya ボローニャ boroonya Bologna (a city in Italy)
ニュ nyu ニュース nyuusu news
ニョ nyo ニョッキ nyokki gnocchi
ヒャ hya ミヒャエル mihyaeru Michael (German pronunciation)
ヒュ hyu ヒューマニズム hyuumanizumu humanism
ヒョ hyo word example not available
ミャ mya ミャンマー myanmaa Myanmar
ミュ myu ミュージカル myuujikaru musical
ミョ myo word example not available
リャ rya リャマ ryama llama
リュ ryu リュージュ ryuuju luge
リョ ryo マトリョーシカ matoryooshika Matryoshka (Russian nesting doll)
ギャ gya ギャンブル gyanburu gamble
ギュ gyu モンタギュー mongagyuu Montague
ギョ gyo ギョウザ gyooza gyooza dumpling
ジャ ja ジャズ jazu jazz
ジュ ju ジュース juusu juice
ジョ jo ジョギング jogingu jogging
ヂャ ja word example not available
ヂュ ju word example not available
ヂョ jo word example not available
ビャ bya word example not available
ビュ byu ビューワー byuuwaa viewer
ビョ byo ビョーク byooku
Björk (Icelandic name)
Part 2: Katakana 59

ピャ pya word example not available
ピュ pyu コンピューター konpyuutaa computer
ピョ pyo ピョンヤン pyon-yan Pyongyang (a city in North Korea)
Please note that some of these combination characters in katakana are rarely used, especially
those without examples above.
Double Consonants
The rule of double consonants for katakana is the same as hiragana. Double consonants are
written with a small ツ tsu placed immediately before the consonant to be doubled. The
consonants that can be doubled are k, s, t, c, g, z, j, d, b, and p as shown in the examples below:
k ロック rokku rock or lock

s メッセージ messeeji message
t マット matto mat
c パッチ pacchi patch
g バッグ baggu bag
z メッゾ mezzo mezzo
f シャッフル shaffuru shuffle
d ベッド beddo bed
b スノッブ sunobbu snob
p カップ kappu cup
As noted for hiragana, keep in mind that double n are not considered a double consonant. This is
because the first n is represented by the character ン n, as illustrated in the following examples:
カンヌ kannu Cannes (a city in France)

トンネル tonneru tunnel

Long Vowels
One major difference between hiragana and katakana usage is in the representation of long
vowels. Any vowel may be elongated by writing a dash (―) after it. Below are some examples
showing the contrast between long vowels in hiragana and katakana:
hiragana word containing a long vowel katakana word containing a long vowel
おかあさん okaasan mother スカート sukaato skirt
(someone else’s)
いいえ iie no イーメール iimeeru e-mail
じゅう juu ten ジュース juusu juice
れい ree zero チョコレート chokoreeto chocolate
おとうさん otoosan father トークシ tookushoo talk show
(someone else’s) ョー
Katakana-specific Combination Characters

In order to approximate the pronunciation of foreign words, the following combinations are
commonly used. Note that these sound combinations are not used in hiragana.
ウィwi ウィンドーショッピ windooshoppingu window shopping

ング
ウェ we ウェイトレス weitoresu waitress
ウォ wo ウォール wooru wall
シェ she シェパード shepaado shepherd
チェ che チェーン cheen chain
ティti パーティー paatii party
ファ fa ファックス fakkusu fax
フィfi フィンランド finrando Finland
フェ fe フェンス fensu fence
フォ fo フォーク fooku fork
ジェ je ジェーン jeen Jane
ディdi ディスプレイ disupurei display
Part 2: Katakana 61

デュ du デューク duuku Duke
Remember that the second character of each of the above combinations must be written small.
おめでとうございます！Omedetoogozaimasu! Congratulations! You’ve learned all the basic

katakana characters, diacritics, and special character combinations! In the next section, you’ll
learn just a couple of things to keep in mind when you read katakana; and then you’ll be ready to
work on some reading exercises.
READING AND
PUNCTUATION RULES
Particles
Katakana is almost always used to write particular words (mainly of foreign origin) in a sentence.
Therefore, you will not see the particles (such as wa, ga, o, ni, and e) written in katakana.
However, if somebody chose to write those particles in katakana for a particular reason, he/she
would follow the same rules that apply to hiragana. That is to use the character ハ ha for the
particle wa, the character ヘ he for the particle e, and the character ヲ o for the particle o.
Punctuation
A centered dot (・) is often used between the first and the last names of foreign origin.
ジョン・スミス jon・sumisu John Smith

WRITING KATAKANA
As noted for hiragana, there are slight differences in the appearance of characters between typed
style and handwritten style. Again, it is very important to follow the stroke order and the stroke
direction of each character. There are six blank squares provided for each character for you to
practice.
アa
イi
ウu
Part 2: Katakana 63

エe
オo
カ ka
キ ki

ク ku
ケ ke
コ ko
サ sa
Part 2: Katakana 65

シ shi
ス su
セ se
ソ so

タ ta
チ chi
ツ tsu
テ te
Part 2: Katakana 67

ト to
ナ na
ニ ni
ヌ nu

ネ ne
ノ no
ハ ha
ヒ hi
Part 2: Katakana 69

フ fu
ヘ he
ホ ho
マ ma

ミmi
ム mu
メ me
モ mo
Part 2: Katakana 71

ヤ ya
ユ yu
ヨ yo
ラ ra

リri
ル ru
レ re
ロ ro
Part 2: Katakana 73

ワ wa
ヲo
ンn
ガ ga

ギ gi
グ gu
ゲ ge
ゴ go
Part 2: Katakana 75

ザ za
ジ ji
ズ zu
ゼ ze

ゾ zo
ダ da
ヂ ji
ヅ zu
Part 2: Katakana 77

デ de
ド do
バ ba
ビ bi

ブ bu
ベ be
ボ bo
パ pa
Part 2: Katakana 79

ピ pi
プ pu
ペ pe
ポ po

ャ ya (small) (horizontal writing)
ャ ya (small) (vertical writing)
ュ yu (small) (horizontal writing)
ュ yu (small) (vertical writing)
Part 2: Katakana 81

ョ yo (small) (horizontal writing)
ョ yo (small) (vertical writing)
ッ tsu (small) (horizontal writing)
ッ tsu (small) (vertical writing)

― (dash used for a long vowel) (horizontal writing)
| (dash used for a long vowel) (vertical writing)
・(dot used for foreign names)
Part 2: Katakana 83

Part 3: Kanji
かんじ
In this section of the Guide to Reading and Writing Japanese, we’ll look at the basics of 漢字 kanji:
some reading rules and conventions, concepts and components of kanji, and finally you’ll learn
how to read and write twenty very basic characters.
In Intermediate Japanese and Advanced Japanese, Japanese words and sentences are written with
ふ
as many kanji characters as an average Japanese adult would use, and every kanji has 振り
がな
仮名 furigana over it for your reading guidance. Don’t be overwhelmed by the number of
characters. You are not asked to learn how to write or read all the kanji characters used in
Intermediate Japanese and Advanced Japanese. They are there for you to familiarize yourself with
kanji characters in action. In Essential Japanese, you will not see any kanji, but feel free to start
studying the basic kanji in this guide once you have mastered hiragana and katakana.
READING KANJI
おんよくんよ
音読み on yomi (on reading) and 訓読み kun yomi (kun reading)
おんよ
There are two different types of kanji reading. One is called 音読み on yomi
(on reading), which derived from the Chinese pronunciation. The other is called
くんよ
訓読み kun yomi (kun reading), which is the pronunciation of the Japanese
word corresponding to the meaning of the kanji character. For example, the character 水, which

means water has the readings すい sui and みず mizu; すい sui is on yomi and みず mizu is
kun yomi.
Many characters have more than one on yomi or kun yomi. For example, the character 木
which means tree has four readings: もく moku, ぼく boku, き ki, and こ ko. The first two are
on yomi, and the last two are kun yomi.
Some characters do not have a kun yomi. For example, the character 茶 which means tea has
the readings ちゃ cha and さ sa, both of which are on yomi, but the character does not have
kun yomi.
Reading Rules
As a general rule, kun yomi is assigned when a kanji appears by itself. In contrast, when two
or more kanji characters are combined to make a word, on yomi is assigned. Take a look at the
characters 兄 and 弟 below for example.
兄
あに
kun yomi あに ani 兄 ani one’s own older brother
にい
にい nii お兄さん oniisan someone else’s older brother
きょうだい
on yomi きょう kyoo 兄弟 kyoodai siblings
ふけい
けい kee 父兄 fukee fathers and eldest sons
弟
おとうと
kun yomi おとうと弟 otooto one’s own younger brother
おとうと
otooto 弟さん otootosan someone else’s younger brother
Part 3: Kanji 85

弟
きょうだい
on yomi だい dai 兄弟 kyoodai siblings
してい
てい tee 師弟 shitee teacher and student
してい
子弟 shitee children
でし
で de 弟子 deshi disciple
い
Often a single Japanese word is written using both kanji and hiragana; for example, 行く iku (to
おおしずにい
go), 大きい ookii (big), 静か shizuka (quiet), お兄さん oniisan (someone else’s older brother).
おくがな
The hiragana that follows kanji in a single word is called 送り仮名 okurigana. For example,
いおおしずにい
く ku in 行く iku, きい kii in 大きい ookii, か ka in 静か shizuka, and さん san in お兄
さん oniisan are okurigana. Usually, when a word has to be written with kanji and okurigana,
the reading of that kanji is kun yomi. One major exception is the verb type ～する . . . suru (do
べんきょうそつぎょう
. . . ); for example, 勉強する benkyoosuru (to study), 卒業する sotsugyoosuru (to graduate),
よやく
予約する yoyakusuru (to make an appointment/reservation). These verbs have the structure “the
べんきょうそつぎょう
verb do + noun of Chinese origin.” Since the nouns 勉強 benkyoo (study), 卒業 sotsugyoo
よやく
(graduation), and 予約 yoyaku (appointment/reservation) are nouns originated in the Chinese
language, on yomi is applied to each of the kanji characters.
ANATOMY OF KANJI
Kanji Formation
Kanji characters can be classified into four categories in terms of how they have been formed.
しょうけいもじしじもじ
The four categories are 象形文字 shookee moji (pictorial characters), 指示文字 shiji moji

かいいもじけいせいもじ
(indicative characters), 会意文字 kaii moji (compound ideographic characters), 形声文字 keesee
moji (phonetic-ideographic characters). Among them, shookee moji and shiji moji are most basic,
while kaii moji and keesee moji are formed by combining the basic characters.
しょうけいもじ
象形文字 Shookee Moji (pictorial characters)
Shookee moji (pictorial characters) are originated from pictures of objects. Examples of this type
of characters are shown below.
山 (mountain) 川 (river) 火 (fire)
しじもじ
指示文字 Shiji Moji (indicative characters)
Shiji moji (indicative characters) are points and lines to express abstract concepts. Examples of
this type of characters are shown below.
一 (one) 二 (two) 上 (above, on, top) 下 (under, below)
かいいもじ
会意文字 Kaii Moji (Compound Ideographic Characters)
Kaii moji (compound ideographic characters) are formed by combining shookee moji (pictorial
characters) or shiji moji (indicative characters). The meaning of kaii moji is a result of its
component characters. For example, by putting the two characters 日 (sun), and 月 (moon), we
get a character 明 which means bright. By putting two of the character 木 (tree) together, we get
林 (woods); with three of them, we have 森 (forest).
Part 3: Kanji 87

けいせいもじ
形声文字 Keesee Moji (phonetic-ideographic characters)
Keesee moji (phonetic-ideographic characters) are also combinations of two or more simple
characters. What makes keesee moji different from kaii moji is that one component represents
the meaning, while the other component represents the pronunciation. It’s the most complex
kind of kanji but most existing kanji characters are keesee moji.
Now let’s look at some examples. The three characters below share the same left-side component.
海 (sea, ocean), 湖 (lake), 泳 (swim)
The left-side component is a radical called さんずい sanzui. The さんずい sanzui radical has
the meaning water, and thus all three characters have meanings related to water. The rest of the
components in each of the characters represent various pronunciations.
Let’s take a look at another set of examples. The three characters below share the same right-
side component. This radical designates the on yomi koo. However, since the three characters
have different left-side components, the meanings are unrelated.
こうこうこう
溝 koo (groove), 講 koo (lecture), 構 koo (structure)
Radicals and Components

ぶしゅ
Let’s talk more about the components of complex kanji. Radicals (部首 bushu) are the most
basic components of kanji. A good knowledge of radicals is useful in understanding the
composition of complex characters. Knowing radicals is sort of similar to knowing Latin and
Greek roots. Just as knowing Latin and Greek roots helps to analyze and deduce the meaning
of many English words, knowing radicals helps you understand many kanji characters. The
number of radicals is said to be about 150 to 250.

Many radicals can traditionally be classified into seven categories, depending on their position
within the character. The seven categories are presented with examples below. The radicals
presented as examples here all indicate meaning rather than sound. You can see how the
meaning of words is related to the meaning of the radicals.
へん
1. 偏 hen: left-part radical

にんべん
人偏 ninben (person)
にんべんからだ
Word that contains 人偏 ninben: 体 karada (body)
つくり
2. 旁 tsukuri: right-part radical

ちから
力 chikara (power)
ちからこうか
Word that contains 力 chikara: 効果 kooka (effect)
Part 3: Kanji 89

かんむり
3. 冠 kanmuri: upper-part radical

くさかんむり
草冠 kusa kanmuri (grass)
くさかんむりちゃ
Word that contains 草冠 kusa kanmuri: お茶 ocha (tea)
あし
4. 脚 ashi: lower-part radical

こころ
心 kokoro (heart)
こころおも
Word that contains 心 kokoro (heart): 思う omou (to think)
たれ
5. 垂 tare: upper-and-left-part radical

やまいだれ
病垂
yamaidare (illness)
やまいだれびょうき
Word that contains 病垂 yamaidare: 病気 byooki (illness)
にょう
6. 繞 nyoo: left-and-lower-part radical

しんにょう/しんにゅう shinnyoo/shinnyuu (proceed)
ちか
Word that contains しんにょう/しんにゅう shinnyoo/shinnyuu: 近い chikai (near)
かまえ
7. 構 kamae: outer-portion radical
くにがまえ
国構 kunigamae (country)
くにがまえくに
Word that contains 国構 kunigamae: 国 kuni (country)
Part 3: Kanji 91

WRITING KANJI
In this section, you will learn how to write twenty very basic kanji characters. Each of these
characters cannot be broken down into simpler kanji.
かな
By now, you should be familiar with 仮名 kana stroke order. When you learn kanji, you need
to learn how many strokes each character takes to write, and also the order of strokes. It sounds
like arduous work, but it is certainly rewarding in the end because it will in fact make learning
and writing characters easier, especially the more complex ones. Knowing exactly how many
strokes it takes to write a kanji character is particularly important because you need to know
this in order to look up words in a kanji dictionary. There are some general principles in stroke
order, which can come in handy; although there are some exceptions, generally each character
is written from left to right, top to bottom, and horizontal lines before vertical lines. It’s useful
かくかくすう
to remember the following Japanese expressions: 画 kaku (stroke), 画数 kakusuu (number of
かじゅん
strokes), 書き順 kakijun (stroke order).
Just as with kana, you should follow the handwritten style when you practice writing kanji
because there are subtle differences between the handwritten style and the typed style.

一 One
ひと
kun yomi ひと hito 一つ hitotsu one
いちがつ
on yomi いち ichi 一月 ichigatsu January
どういつ
いつ itsu 同一 dooitsu identical
二 Two
ふた
kun yomi ふた futa 二つ futatsu two
にがつ
on yomi に ni 二月 nigatsu February
Part 3: Kanji 93

三 Three
みっ
kun yomi み(っ) mi 三つ mittsu three
さんがつ
on yomi さん san 三月 sangatsu March
四 Four
よっ
kun yomi よ(っ) yo 四つ yottsu four
よんぷん
よん yon 四分 yonpun
four minutes
しがつ
on yomi し shi 四月 shigatsu April

五 Five
いつ
kun yomi いつ itsu 五つ itsutsu five
ごがつ
on yomi ご go 五月 gogatsu May
六 Six
むっ
kun yomi む(っ) mu 六つ muttsu six
ろくがつ
on yomi ろく roku 六月 rokugatsu June
七 Seven
なな
kun yomi なな nana 七つ nanatsu seven
しちがつ
on yomi しち shichi 七月 shichigatsu July

Part 3: Kanji 95

八 Eight
やっ
kun yomi や(っ) ya 八つ yattsu eight
はちがつ
on yomi はち hachi 八月 hachigatsu August
九 Nine
ここの
kun yomi ここの kokono 九つ kokonotsu nine
きゅうにん
on yomi きゅう kyuu 九人 kyuunin
nine people
くがつ
く ku 九月 kugatsu September

十 Ten
とお
kun yomi とお too 十 too ten
じゅうがつ
on yomi じゅう juu 十月 juugatsu October
大 Big
おお
kun yomi おお oo 大きい ookii big
だいがく
on yomi だい dai 大学 daigaku college, university
たいせつ
たい tai 大切 taisetsu important
Part 3: Kanji 97

小 Small
ちい
kun yomi ちい chii 小さい chiisai small
こむぎ
こ ko 小麦 komugi wheat
おがわ
おo 小川 ogawa stream
しょうがっこう
on yomi しょう shoo 小学校 shoogakkoo
elementary school
人 Person
おんなひと
kun yomi ひと hito 女の人 onna no hito female
にほんじん
on yomi じん jin 日本人 nihonjin
Japanese (person)
さんにん
にん nin 三人 sannin three people

月 Moon
つき
kun yomi つき tsuki 月 tsuki moon
げつようび
on yomi げつ getsu 月曜日 getsuyoobi Monday
いちがつ
がつ gatsu 一月 ichigatsu January
火 Fire
ひ
kun yomi ひ hi 火 hi fire
かようび
on yomi か ka 火曜日 kayoobi Tuesday
水 Water
みず
kun yomi みず mizu 水 mizu water
すいようび
on yomi すい sui 水曜日 suiyoobi Wednesday

Part 3: Kanji 99

木 Tree
き
kun yomi き ki 木 ki tree
こ
こ ko 木かげ kokage tree shadow
もくようび
on yomi もく moku 木曜日 mokuyoobi Thursday
たいぼく
ぼく boku 大木 taiboku big tree
金 Gold
かね
kun yomi かね kane お金 okane money
きんようび
on yomi きん kin 金曜日 kinyoobi Friday
こんじき
こん kon 金色 konjiki golden color

土 Soil, earth
つち
kun yomi つち tsuchi 土 tsuchi soil
どようび
on yomi ど do 土曜日 doyoobi Saturday
とち
と to 土地 tochi land
日 Day, sun
ちちひ
kun yomi ひ hi 父の日 chichi no hi
father’s day
げつようび
び bi 月曜日 getsuyoobi
Monday
みっか
か ka 三日 mikka
third day, three days
まいにち
on yomi にち nichi 毎日 mainichi
every day
にほん
に ni 日本 nihon Japan
せんじつ
じつ jitsu 先日 senjitsu
the other day
Part 3: Kanji 101

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Guide to Reading and

Copyright © 2012 by Living Language, an imprint of Random House, Inc. www.livinglanguage.com

Reading Hiragana Writing Hiragana

Reading Katakana Writing Katakana

Reading Kanji Writing Kanji

Copyright © 2012 by Living Language, an imprint of Random House, Inc. www.livinglanguage.com

Overview of the Japanese Writing System 7

Copyright © 2012 by Living Language, an imprint of Random House, Inc. www.livinglanguage.com

学 (learn) + 生 (life) = 学 生 gakusee (student)

朝 (morning) + 食 (eat) = 朝 食 chooshoku (breakfast)

かな Kana vs. 漢字 Kanji

8 Guide to Reading and Writing Japanese

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Japanese Text at a Glance

Overview of the Japanese Writing System 9

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10 Guide to Reading and Writing Japanese

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Overview of the Japanese Writing System 11

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ひらがなのごじゅうおんひょう Hiragana no gojuuon hyoo The hiragana chart

12 Guide to Reading and Writing Japanese

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Hiragana Characters One by One

あぎょう agyoo the A-line

The next column is さぎょう sagyoo the Sa-line:

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The next column is たぎょう tagyoo the Ta-line:

Let’s look at the rest of the characters.

はぎょう hagyoo the Ha-line

14 Guide to Reading and Writing Japanese

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まぎょう magyoo the Ma-line

やぎょう yagyoo the Ya-line

らぎょう ragyoo the Ra-line

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んn こんばんは。Konban wa. Good evening.

DIACRITICS AND SPECIAL CHARACTER

16 Guide to Reading and Writing Japanese

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The use of だくてん dakuten

がぎょう gagyoo the Ga-line

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ざぎょう zagyoo the Za-line

だぎょう dagyoo the Da-line

ばぎょう bagyoo the Ba-line

18 Guide to Reading and Writing Japanese

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The use of はんだくてん handakuten

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きゃ kya きゃくkyaku customer

20 Guide to Reading and Writing Japanese

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With a glide Without a glide

22 Guide to Reading and Writing Japanese

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さんにん sannin three people

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Following are some example words that contain long vowels:

24 Guide to Reading and Writing Japanese

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ぐうぜん guuzen coincidence

学 (learn) + 生 (life) = 学生 gakusee (student)

朝 (morning) + 食 (eat) = 朝食 chooshoku (breakfast)

わたしはにほんごをべんきょうします。

かぎかっこ kagikakko quotation marks「」